COLUMBUS – As the federal government prepares to give a final OK to administering the Pfizer COVID-19 for younger children, the state says it’s ready to expand its vaccination incentive scholarship program.
A special advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meets Tuesday to consider recommendations for administering the Pfizer vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 and, as soon as that happens, the state says it will expand Ohio’s Vax-2-School scholarship incentive program to kids in the younger age bracket.
The first shots could go into kids’ arms by midweek, and the White House says the U.S. has enough vaccine for all 28 million children in the age bracket.
“As we await the CDC decision, we are not waiting on the operations and logistics,” White House virus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Monday.
Ohio Vax-2-School will award $2 million in scholarships to eligible Ohioans, currently limited to those between the ages of 12 and 25 who have received at least one dose of a vaccine. The prizes in the drawing include 150, $10,000 scholarships, and five, $100,000 grand prize scholarships to colleges, universities, community colleges, trade schools and training programs in Ohio.
Eligible Ohioans or their parents or guardians can currently enter the Ohio Vax-2-School program online or by phone at 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634)
Children in the younger age group can be entered in Ohio Vax-2-School following their first dose of the vaccine, which could be administered as soon as later this week, Ohio Department of Health officials said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee last week recommended the pediatric formulation of COVID-19 vaccines for children and the FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for the vaccine.
More than 6.4 million Ohioans, representing nearly 65% of eligible residents, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
State encourages masking
Ohio’s top health official says children should continue to wear masks in schools because they will not achieve full immunity for several weeks.
“Despite a recent downtrend, Ohio’s COVID-19 cases remain at a very high level,” ODH director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said. “We know that it takes a full five weeks before the vaccine provides the highest level of immunity. For these reasons, we continue to encourage students to wear masks in school as we await the rollout of the vaccine for younger students.”